Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg between 1912 and 1919. Her short reign saw six prime ministers take power in the space of three years.
RTL Today contributor Thomas Tutton continues his series on politics in Luxembourg with a look at the turbulent 1910s, which saw six prime ministers in the space of three years.
The turn of the 20th century brought significant economic and social changes to Luxembourg, a period which also saw the emergence of a new party system.
The long premiership of Paul Eyschen had obscured these emerging political divisions, but his death in 1915, combined with the German invasion of Luxembourg in 1914, triggered a series of political crises that would engulf the Grand Duchy for the next five years.
Mathias Mongenast and the early challenges
Upon Eyschen’s death, Mathias Mongenast, the Director-General of Finance, was tasked with forming a new government. Mongenast faced significant obstruction from Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, the first monarch born in Luxembourg since John the Blind in 1296. Unlike her predecessors, Marie-Adelaide was determined to play an active role in governance and exhibited a clear alignment with conservative politics.
Marie-Adélaïde's political interference was evident from the start. She had delayed signing the controversial Education Act of 1912 for six weeks and had obstructed the appointment of liberal mayors in Differdange and Hollerich in 1915.
With Eyschen gone, Marie-Adélaïde became increasingly assertive. When Mongenast proposed a candidate she opposed for a vacancy at the École Normale, she refused to approve him, forcing Mongenast to resign after less than a month in office.
Mathias Mongenast / © Thewes, Guy. Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848.
Hubert Loutsch and the political crisis
In November 1915, despite the liberal/socialist alliance holding a clear 32-20 majority in the Chamber of Deputies, Marie-Adelaide appointed the conservative Hubert Loutsch as Prime Minister. Loutsch struggled to govern amidst the growing economic and food crises.
In response, Marie-Adelaide called new elections – a power granted by the Luxembourgish constitution but not exercised for decades. The December elections resulted in a narrow 27-25 split favoring the Left Bloc, leading to Loutsch’s resignation in January 1916 after losing a vote of no confidence.
Hubert Loutsch / © Thewes, Guy. Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848.
Victor Thorn and continued instability
After intense negotiations, a National Unity Government was formed with 72-year-old Victor Thorn as Prime Minister. This coalition included a Liberal Prime Minister, Michel Welter from the Social Democrats as Director-General for Agriculture, and Léon Kauffmann from the Party of the Right as Director-General for Finance.
The Thorn government introduced rationing to address rising inflation and food shortages, but this led to a burgeoning black market and exacerbated the divide between well-provisioned rural areas and hungry urban centers. Discontent grew among industrial workers in the south, leading to political mobilization against the Thorn administration.
The government's position was further weakened in December 1916 when the Chamber of Deputies passed a vote of censure against Michel Welter, forcing his resignation.
By-elections in 1917 revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the Thorn administration, as voters in Esch-sur-Alzette elected three independent candidates, causing the government to lose its majority. The final blow came in June 1917 when a strike in Luxembourg’s industrial south was suppressed by the German army, highlighting the government’s ineffectiveness. Thorn was subsequently forced to resign.
Victor Thorn / © Thewes, Guy. Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848.
Léon Kauffmann and Constitutional Reform
In June 1917, Léon Kauffmann, from the Party of the Right, became Prime Minister. To secure support, Kauffmann promised constitutional reforms, including universal suffrage, proportional representation, payment for deputies, and sovereignty issues. The most contentious issue was the revision of Article 32 of the constitution to specify that sovereignty resided in the nation rather than the Grand Duke or Duchess.
Kauffmann’s refusal to accept this revision, combined with growing problems with Marie-Adelaide, who had close ties with German officials, further weakened his government. Kauffmann’s attendance at a ball hosted by German Chancellor Georg von Hertling in August 1918 further eroded his credibility, leading to his resignation the following month.
Léon Kauffmann / © Thewes, Guy. Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848.
Émile Reuter and the path to stability
Émile Reuter assumed power in September 1918, becoming the sixth Prime Minister since 1915. He faced ongoing economic crises, a problematic monarch, political instability, and the end of World War I.
Despite these challenges, Reuter’s government managed to guide the country through a tumultuous period, paving the way for a new era of stability in the early 1920s.
Thus, the early 20th century was a period of profound political transformation for Luxembourg, marked by the rise of political parties and a series of crises that reshaped the nation’s political landscape.
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